Clean Up, Clean Up...

All of Dante's toys are divided into two buckets.  One contains toys that are durable and he is allowed access to freely, and the other contains "special" toys - plush, outside, high-value - that is kept out of his reach.

The bucket of toys he is allowed to have anytime is kept under an end table, and he knows to go get one if he is bored.  Last night, I walked into the living room to this:

This is only about 2/3 of what was in the bin.

My sister informed me that apparently Dante found it completely necessary to, one by one, empty the entire contents of his toy bin to find "the one."

My mom has been getting on me that I need to teach him to pick up his own toys.  I guess it is true: how can he become a service dog and help someone else if he cannot clean up after himself?  ;-)  So, I sat down, and commanded a "fetch."  One by one, Dante brought every toy back to my hand, and I deposited them back into the bin.

All cleaned up!

If only that were the end of our quaint little story.  

Ha.

I then "release" Dante and go back into my room.  Only to be summoned back minutes later by my sister exclaiming, "I can't believe he did that!"  

Yup.  It seems that this too-smart-for-his-own-good puppy realized that if he dumps all his toys out onto the floor, he gets a rousing game of Fetch, AND a couple tasty treats.  So he would be crazy not to do it again, right?

I think I've created a monster...

T Minus 5 Days

The countdown for Lil' Mr. Moray's arrival is on.  Friday at 8:50am is the scheduled time of his plane landing at our city's airport. 

I have been trying to warn Dante that he is about to be de-throned.  Hehehe!  I think he is going to love having a little brother for a few months!  

Preparations for Moray are almost through.  Last week I was on a trip with my church youth group, and my mom picked up a bag of puppy food, and a couple other things.  Yesterday, Dante had puppy class (here, we pause for a picture from yesterday's class).

CCI puppies Young and Dante waiting for instruction on what to do next.

Since we attend class at a pet store, we had Moray's I.D. tag made and picked up a few more baby puppy toys.  Our Puppy Program Manager said Moray's paperwork and puppy starter kit are in the mail, so aside from a few things that have to be puppy-proofed, I think we are set.  I have started reviewing the puppy raising manual, and it is a good refresher.  

That awesome moment when toys you were going to buy anyways are on sale...

Because sometimes I have to flip through the manual just to find this cartoon to reassure myself that Dante is not the only one...

  I am sure many of you are curious to how the blog is going to be handled.  First of all, yes, I am going to continue blogging about raising Dante, and now Moray.  This leads to some inevitable changes as "Days with Dante" is a little too, umm... Dante specific (something I should have thought about last year).  After many going backs between the pro's and con's, I have decided to keep everything on one blog.  While there will be some design changes going on over the next little while, our URL (www.dayswithdante.blogspot.com) will remain the same.  That is our PSA for the day, so just bear with us if things are a little funky in the next week or so.  ;-)

I think you can probably tell the excitement level over here is going up day by day.  Thankfully, I'm channeling that into extra training time with Dante, working on cementing his last couple commands, and rereading some good puppy training material :-)  Only five more days until there will be THREE CCI puppies in this town!

Trip to NC

Last week, my family returned home from a trip to North Carolina.  Dante came with us too.  I must sound like a broken record by now, but Dante is such a good traveler.  Thirteen hours in the car each way, and a crazy week including college and seminary graduations, and he did fantastic.  There is such a difference in this boy when he is not bored! ;-)

On this trip, I really realized how solid Dante is in public.  Dante has always been good in public, but in new places he was always rather distracted until he settled in.  This week, he went in and out of dozens of brand new places including friend's homes, hotels, church, an airport, college campuses, grocery stores, and restaurants, and Dante acted as if he had been there a billion times.  For the first time, it felt easy to take him somewhere new and busy.  As much as we still have to work on, this trip has made me really see his strong points and how far we have come together.

At the airport saying goodbye to my sister, on her way to Italy and the UK for the summer.

Dante loves meeting new friends and family

My sister's graduation

Using my purse as a pillow at lunch.  This place was so welcoming of Dante, and even offered water for him.  I said no, as he can't while he is working and I had some in the car for him, but it was really nice just the same!

Mother's Day with the family

PEANUT BUTTER.  Need I say more?

One of the many play dates with friend's dogs

And some fun walks as well!

New Addition

For the last few months, the question I keep getting asked is "when are you getting another puppy?"  Dante's Turn In is only twelve short weeks away.  While I know I am going to raise again, I was not sure when that would be.  Little puppies are a lot of work in the beginning, and due to my school, family, and travel schedule in the fall, there was a very, very limited window of time that would work for my family to receive a baby puppy, or else I would have had to wait 4-5 months after Dante goes back.  

 I really did not want to take a break from raising, and thanks to our amazing Puppy Program Manager, who totally got our situation and did not want us to have to wait either, was able to set us up with a puppy exactly when it worked best for us.  That's right, puppy #2 (!!!) is scheduled to arrive on June 7th!

There will be a two month overlap between him and Dante, which I think will be excellent for both of them.  Dante can teach the new puppy the ropes, and just maybe the puppy will make Dante grow up a little.  ;-)

This puppy's name is Moray.  He is a 3/4 Black Lab, 1/4 Golden cross.  Moray already holds a very special place in my heart.  You see, when I started with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, my first puppy was supposed to be a male black lab from the M litter.  It may just seem like a coincidence, but it feels very special.  Moray is absolutely adorable!  You don't believe he is the cutest thing ever?  Ha!  See for yourself.

Moray: 4 weeks old.  Photo courtesy of Jadynn's Breeder Caretaker

Unlike when I received Dante, this time around I am much more connected with other people involved with CCI.  I am so thankful that I was able to get in touch with Jadynn's (Moray's mom) Breeder Caretaker.  Breeder Caretakers are so amazing!  They care for CCI's precious breeders, whelp puppies, and care for and love on them for their first 8 weeks.  They are truly priceless!

I have shared my story about how I started puppy raising before.  I waited a looooong time for Dante.  Or at least two years from when I decided to raise seems like a long time to impatient me.  It feels absolutely crazy fast that I am going to have CCI Puppy Number Two in just three short weeks.  I am kinda really, really excited! 

Me Too!

We have been sitting still in the church pew for over an hour now.  I am amazed that after a few days of too much school to do, and even more rain, that Dante has behaved himself as well as he has for the last few hours.  For not getting as much exercise as he really needed in the last few days, he has made it through Sunday morning better than I expected.  I honestly prepared myself to have to sit outside with him.  But he is great, and laying so still.

Until.

You see, Dante thinks he is entitled to certain things.  Oh, like kibble when he does something well.  Hence why a pouch of treats on the hip is a necessity of any fashionable outfit in my life.  It usually works quite well; Dante does something I like, I praise and (at his age, occasionally) reward him.

Dante is very good about not begging for food when we go out to eat.  But, he also knows that people do not eat in Church.  And he apparently thinks that anything I have in my hand is meant for him.  Or so he thought.

This week we had Communion, and Dante thought he was entitled to partake.  As the plate was passed down the row, Dante's head popped up.  "Uh-oh," I think.  My eyes meet my mom's and we know we are in for it.  I put my foot on the leash, just as Dante tries to sit up.  We spend a few minutes with Dante trying to pop up without avail, but then he settles down again.  Just as I let my guard down, "WOOF!"  I quickly cup my hand over his muzzle, "Quiet!"  I whisper.  

I look up, everyone was startled at first, but then started laughing.  It is times like these that I am incredible thankful for a Church Family that is supportive of puppy raising and loves Dante.  But that doesn't mean puppy raising does not have its embarrassing moments.  

Thank you, Dante, for keeping me humble. 

Wordless Wednesday

"I got the whole Heeling thing down, now it's my turn to push the cart!"

Puppy Sitting

Last week, I had the opportunity to puppy sit another Canine Companions puppy.  Young is the only other CCI puppy in my area, and a super cute four month old 3/4 lab/golden cross (Dante is a 3/4 golden cross).  

Dante and Young got along great.  The only problem was getting them to stop playing!  

They played so hard on Thursday when Young arrived, that Dante was so exhausted on Friday, and for a while I thought he was sick.  Hehe!  I was so impressed with how Dante handled Young "invading" his space and toys.  He shared so well, and was so gentle with Young.  He did show some jealousy over my attention, but got over that in the first day.

Young is such a sweetie!  Maybe having a teenager in Dante really showed the contrast, but I had almost forgotten how fresh little puppies are!  There was no "Whatcha gonna do about it if I don't?" attitude; just soaking up everything new and really wanting your approval and attention.  So innocent.  Don't get me wrong, while Dante has some issues we are working on, I wouldn't trade his spunk in for the world. :-)

I had a very busy week and weekend with school and such, so we spent most of the time at home.  But Young did get to come to the park and watch my tennis lesson.  My mom took him for a short walk and then to sit and watch.  It is so much fun to watch them take in new surroundings!

We had a great time with Young, and poor Dante was mopey all day yesterday when he left.  I keep telling him that he will see him at puppy class on Saturday, and I think he is getting over it.  ;-)